Holly’s face hardened into a mask of stone. “Have fun getting to the mines like that,” she said. “If you do manage to make it, you’re risking doing permanent damage to your ankle. Tell me, do injured shifters who can’t shift last long in a fight?”
Elise glared up at Holly. “Are you going to leave me here?”
“I don’t see why I shouldn’t. You’ve proven yourself to be a liability.” Holly raised her bow and nocked a practice arrow. “I wonder how much damage this will do.”
“You preach about avoiding bloodshed, yet you hold a weapon to an injured person,” Elise sneered.
“I don’t want to hurt you. Truly. But I can’t trust you.”
“If you can aim for my eye, I’d appreciate it,” Elise seethed.
“Actually, I have something else in mind. Get up.”
With some difficultly, Elise struggled to her feet.
“Walk,” Holly commanded. Though her voice was steady and commanding, her legs shook beneath her long skirt.
Elise hobbled over the small ridge, wincing with each step.
For good measure, Holly pressed the tip of her practice arrow into Elise’s back. Their progress was slow, but they made it back to the house.
Johnny, Keller, Garret, and Loch were waiting just inside the door.
“What the hell?” Garret muttered.
“Found her,” Holly said. “She was trying to warn her brother when she fell. Get her to the couch.”
Keller and Johnny stepped forward to help Elise.
Loch approached Holly. “You look a little green,” he said.
“I’ve never threatened someone before. I feel a little queasy.”
“You used to threaten me all the time.” Loch chuckled. “I kind of miss it, oddly.”
“Yes, that is odd. Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“It’s a pretty bad one,” she warned him.
“Anything,” he repeated, his eyes locked on hers.
“Break her ankle.”
Loch’s brows drew together.
“Break it, then make sure it will heal properly. Give her whatever she needs to take away the pain. This isn’t about torture. This is about making sure she can’t ruin our plan. She’ll surely try to warn Trevor again, first chance she gets. If he disappears into Golden Oak, we’ll never find him again.”
Loch’s mouth tightened into a harsh line.
“Okay.” He nodded. “The others aren’t going to like it.”
“They’re going to have to deal with it.”
Loch disappeared into the study and returned with a paperweight the size of a grapefruit. Silently, he approached Elise on the couch. Before anyone thought to ask what he was doing, he brought the weight up and slammed it down on her ankle.
Elise let out a blood-curdling scream.
“That’s enough.” Holly nodded. “Bind it and get her something for the pain. Maybe a shot while you’re at it.”
Loch quickly did as he was told.
“What was that?” Keller demanded angrily.
“I need to make sure she’s not going to run off to tell Trevor our plan,” Holly said. “If she found another chance, she’d leave. A sprained ankle wasn’t going to be enough to stop her. Isn’t that right, Elise?”
She fixed Holly with a vicious glare.
“You might as well tell the truth,” Holly said, touching the pendant, and Keller’s eyes brightened with understanding. “It’ll only help you.”
“She’s right,” Elise said through gritted teeth.
“I want her to make a full recovery,” Holly said. “Which one of you is the best at binding injuries?”
“I’ve patched myself up from enough scrapes,” Johnny said. He took the bandages and medicine from Loch when he returned and set to work.
“Whiskey or rum?” Loch asked Elise.
“Whiskey.”
Loch disappeared into the kitchen and returned with two shots of whiskey.
Elise grabbed one and took it with a wince.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
“For you,” Loch offered the second shot to Holly.
“What?”
“It’ll settle your nerves.”
Holly drank it quickly so the bitter liquid wouldn’t touch her tongue for too long. She sputtered and coughed, her eyes watering.
“Have you never done that before?” Loch smirked.
“No,” Holly whimpered. “That was terrible.”
“I’m going to get you a snack in case you don’t hold your liquor well.” Loch patted Holly on the shoulder.
“If I just got taken down on the orders of someone who can’t handle a single shot, I’ll never forgive myself,” Elise mumbled.
“Wow, those pain killers worked fast,” Johnny mused.
“Whatever you gave me, give me ten more,” she demanded.
“Absolutely not.”
“We need her head clear sooner rather than later,” Holly said. “She’s going to scry for us.”
“You’ve just shattered my ankle, now you want me to do things for you?” Elise frowned. “That’s messed up.”
“Every part of this is messed up. If you’d trusted me, like I asked you to, your ankle wouldn’t be the size of a citrus.”
“If I trusted you, my brother would be dead by tomorrow,” she spat.
“That’s not true. I don’t know what else I can do to convince you that I don’t want anything bad to happen to Trevor while I can still help him.”
Loch returned with a sandwich and a tall glass of juice. “For the lightweight Maiden.”
“I’m not drunk,” Holly pointed out. “Give half that sandwich to Elise, please. We need to get her in shape to scry.”
“How do we know she’ll tell us the truth about what she sees?” Keller asked.
“Because if she doesn’t, she’ll only be hurting herself,” Holly reasoned. “I plan on using whatever she sees to help Trevor.”
“Bullshit,” Elise snapped.
“If that’s what you think, fine.” Holly shrugged. “Whatever happens to him after this is on your head.”
Holly eyed the remaining half of the sandwich just as her stomach made an alarmingly inhuman noise. When was the last time she’d eaten? It must’ve been breakfast.
As she dug into the sandwich, Elise righted herself on the couch.
“If I’m going to do this, I need a few things,” she said. “First, I need
